


Til My Dyin' Day

by HurtComfortHaven



Category: Leverage
Genre: Child Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Protective Eliot Spencer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:47:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23858590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HurtComfortHaven/pseuds/HurtComfortHaven
Summary: AU.10 year old Parker is the most popular young thief. She's also certified crazy. She seems like a normal if a little insane kid at first when Dubenich brings them all together, but she's also hiding terrible secrets, and some of the team is starting to suspect her. May contain fluff and a bit of ooc-ness
Comments: 14
Kudos: 17





	1. Saving Parker

**Author's Note:**

> This plot bunny would not leave me alone. I'm considering continuing it, but haven't decided yet.

Teamwork

Parker was the most prominent thief in America, which was saying something since she was only ten. She had simply smirked at Eliot when he had said he doesn’t work with kids, though he had noticed the slight fear in her eyes. Then she had jumped off a roof with a manic ‘weeeeeeeeeeeee!’, and Eliot said she was 20 pounds of crazy in a five pound bag. Eliot had been studying her over this job, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right about her. Obviously she was insane, everyone in the criminal world knew that. She had first appeared on criminal radar when she had stolen a famous jewel from a museum successfully. The only reason she got caught was because she was two, and her foster parents had found it in her room. She was pretty good at acting like a hurt little kid walking out of the elevator, though she had stiffened when he’d put his hand on her shoulder for the act. Eliot had filed this away for further information. 

Hardison liked Parker. She was insane, sure. That was blatantly obvious when she jumped off the building, laughing. Her laughter had been contagious, and she reminded him of some of the lucky kids that came through his nana’s house. But he also noticed how she looked at the annoying hitter guy with a bit of fear, which told him something he would rather not dwell on too carefully. Hardison also knew that she was ten, but she was tiny. She looked no older than 6 or 7. He’d read articles about her successful stealing of a jewel protected by multiple safeguards in the middle of a museum during the day, alone. She was two years old when she stole it for god’s sake, still in diapers. She had stolen more since then, bigger targets, with even more security. But the jewel was what she was most famous for. He had given her a cheap cell phone to use, just in case, and never bothered asking for it back.

Nate didn’t know what to make of the little girl. She didn’t act like her son had at all, she was two years older than he had been, sure, but her mind worked out problems faster than some adults he knew. Most kids just wanted to be hugged and whatever, but Parker seemed to avoid any and all physical contact. He had a nagging suspicion of why, but he couldn’t afford to get close to her. She was on the opposite side of the war he fought. It’s just this job, he thought, and then none of us talk to each other again.

But he was wrong, for once.

Parker had gotten the call from Dubenich to meet at the warehouse. Luckily she had remembered to flip the phone to silent, because her foster father, Charlie, was drunk again and had taken it out on her earlier. She tried to lock the pain away as she changed into the ‘good’ clothes she kept hidden. It wouldn’t be good if Charlie found them, he’d ask questions. And probably start touching her again. She shuddered, she hated when it happened. Parker was always too small to fight back, and she hated it. Usually she just shut down and went to the top of a tall, tall building in her head, and jumped. Parker grabbed Charlie’s gun last minute, and walked to the warehouse.

She walked in holding the gun in front of her, remembering to click the safety off. Nate immediately pointed his own gun at her, though his finger was far from the trigger. She narrowed her eyes. “See it’s funny, the only way to get all of us in here at once was to tell us we’re not getting paid.” Nate fell silent and they all started running at once. Parker tripped and fell down the stairs, but the man who always growled, Eliot, grabbed her arm and pulled, not having time to make sure she was able to keep up. And there was no way in hell he was going to pick her up. He hadn’t slowed when he felt her shoulder dislocate, but immediately felt a pang of guilt at her quiet hiss of pain. They exited the building and seconds later it exploded. 

Parker barely managed to stay conscious as she was thrown forward. Years of training herself had come in handy though, and she was able to slip out of sight as the ambulances pulled up. Eliot stared hard at her but allowed the paramedics to take him after a moment. 

Parker hesitated for several moments and weighed her options. Deciding it was worth the risk of Charlie waking up, she followed the ambulance. This was really fun and she didn’t want to be left behind on whatever was next. She ignored the throbbing of her shoulder and hid outside the hospital. She straightened up and put her best wide eyed face on, walking up to the desk and talking quickly. “I’m looking for my daddy. He called me and said he was here, he told me not to come but I had to make sure he was okay, please can I see him?” She pleaded. She described Eliot when they asked her to describe him, and they led her to a room. “Mr. Kane, your daughter is here to see you. Said you called her earlier.” The doctor walked out of the room, and Parker couldn’t hide the small flinch as Eliot leveled her with a glare. Growly man still scared her a bit and the dislocated shoulder hadn’t helped. She quickly looked away and handed Nate her phone, then gave Hardison a phone she had stolen off the doctor in the hallway. A few well placed phone calls and a hacked printer later, Hardison was putting all of them in a squad car and driving off. He dropped them off at his apartment before driving around to dump the car off. Parker stayed in the car with   
Hardison and he smiled at her. 

As they all walked into the apartment, Eliot pulled Parker aside, ignoring the flinch. “This is going to hurt,” was the only thing he growled before gently yet firmly pulling her shoulder sideways, and she let out a small cry of pain that the others didn’t hear. The sound of bone clicking back into place was familiar to her. She glared at him as she walked away but he still saw the fear she was trying to hide. She would have done it herself eventually, she’d just had more important things on her mind. Like following the ambulance and saving their asses with cell phones. 

The rest of the job, their revenge, went relatively well. Parker had been wary of Sophie at first but she was nice enough. Nate trusted her, and Parker trusted Nate the most of anyone on the team, mainly because of the way he didn’t look at her like she would break. Eliot was still very growly at all of them, but she was getting used to that. Kind of. Sometimes she had a sneaking suspicion he saw through her acting like a normal kid. She smirked to herself at this, it was a joke to herself. She’d never been a normal kid. She shrank back at the swift kick to her ribs Charlie gave her. “Stop smirking freak, or I’ll give you a present,” he growled, and Parker tried to hide her shaking at this. She closed her eyes and went to her high up place. 

Later that morning, Charlie was passed out with a bottle of booze in his hand and Parker was able to sneak out to the park that the team had texted her to meet at. Glancing at the clock as she walked out, she cursed under her breath. She’d only be a few minutes late if she ran, which she did, ignoring the stabbing pain in her lungs. She slowed as she approached the group standing on the concrete, and Nate handed everyone envelopes. Parker’s was a bit smaller and thicker than the rest and she frowned, but decided not to press her luck. It had already been a painful day. Her eyes were impossibly huge when she opened the envelope to see a huge stack of fifty dollar bills. The rest of the team wasn’t faring much better, and she backed up half a step when Nate leaned toward her. “Hardison and I put the rest of your payout in a bank account for you under an alias. If you ever need anything from it, you know our numbers. If you need anything, you have our numbers. Understand, Parker?” He said, gently but firmly. She nodded, looking away quickly as her eyes started to get all misty. Nobody had ever said they’d help her before. 

“Well, it was a good time, but I gotta go. People to beat up to a pulp and all that,” Eliot said.

“Yeah, government servers to hack into.” Hardison replied.  
The rest said various excuses, but Parker was silent as they all walked in different directions. She hesitated for a moment, but followed Hardison after Nate, and said she was good at one thing, and only one thing. Everyone said they’d like to come back eventually and Nate told them to be on the lookout for a call. 

__________________________________________________________

Five months later

It was hard for Parker to keep her phone charged nowadays, she occasionally went to the coffee shop at night for a warm drink and that was where she plugged it in. She had finally run away from Charlie a little under a week ago, packing only a small backpack, clothes, and the money from the con they had run on Dubenich. He had gone too far. The touching had progressed to something worse, and now not even her high mind building could distract her when she was scared, or in a flashback. Parker had occasionally been attacked in the alleys, but it was never bad enough that she couldn’t escape after a few kicks or hits or touches. She never slept in the same place unless she hurt too much to move, and always made sure her bruises were covered up. She bought makeup when she couldn’t cover them with clothes. Parker knew she could get away with stealing it if she tried hard enough but she didn’t have the energy for it most of the time. 

She was walking down the street, keeping her pace brisk and purposeful, when a nicely dressed lady walked straight into her. Startled, she looked up and froze: it was Charlie’s ex wife. She tried to run but it was too late as she grabbed her arm.

“Oh, I’m sorr- Parker? Parker Wright? Your foster father has been looking everywhere for you! I’m taking you back to him right now.”

Parker was helplessly dragged along, knowing it was useless to try and fight. She barely managed to throw her bag onto the roof without anyone seeing. Now she just had her phone in her pocket and she hoped he didn’t find it. 

The next week passed by in a hazed blur, and Parker didn’t speak at all. The social worker had come for a check and hadn’t even glanced at her when Charlie handed him a large stack of cash. Just walked right back out. That’s why she refused to call Nate or Hardison, Charlie would just write a check and she’d never see the Leverage crew again. She’d jump off a tall building without a harness if that ever happened. They’d done ten cases since the first job all those months ago. A few cases ago, the team was involved in a bank robbery and Parker was grazed on the arm with a bullet. Elliot had stitched it up. The last job had been interesting because they had given her a fake tumor. Parker had been fine until Eliot had picked her up to keep her from ruining the con, then she’d backed into a corner and refused to speak, She’d done well in hiding what was going on at home, though Eliot still always looked at her suspiciously, and Charlie beat her even more when she didn’t say who gave her stitches. 

Parker was shaking in the corner of the room she was always locked in now. Her filthy mattress had been taken away. Charlie had just finished another round of punishments, he didn’t have to give reasons anymore. She wanted to burn all of her skin off in a shower, but he always insisted on being in the room with her when she showered. Parker was wracked with another tremor. Suddenly there was a buzzing from her pocket and she opened the phone. Charlie was passed out, if the quiet was anything to go by, but she still didn’t want to risk waking him up so she talked quietly. It took her a second to remember how to make words.

“Hello?”

“Parker! We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for over a day now, are you ok? Got another case to run, it’s in San Diego. Should be pretty straightforward. Think you can find a way to join us for a few days? Make sure your dad believes it, can’t risk the con if he’s worried,” Hardison replied. Parker had to hide a bitter snort. She hoped Charlie wouldn’t even know she was gone, best case scenario. Worst case scenario, they’d just have to find another thief.

“I’ll be there. Got grounded, sorry I didn’t answer I wasn’t able to charge my phone. Give me until tomorrow to get a story straightened out,” she replied, forcing herself to giggle softly when Hardison said, “You got this, mama,” and hung up. 

Parker shook her head as she put her phone in her pocket. It was almost dead but she couldn’t risk charging it. Hardison was weird, but she liked him. He was probably the nicest to her out of the crew. She didn’t understand why he tried to make her be a normal kid sometimes, Parker wasn’t good at it. She’d never been with a good foster family, and she sometimes had a suspicion that Hardison knew it. He told her a lot about his Nana, and she often wondered what it was like having a family who cared. Nate was drinking a lot more lately and she had to hide from him sometimes. Instincts were hard to fight. Nate knew he scared her when he drank, which just turned into a cycle where he got even more drunk trying to stop caring. 

Parker stood up and started to pick the lock on her window when the door slammed open. She tried to hide what she’d been doing but it was too late and she gulped. The look Charlie had in his eyes was scarier than she’d ever seen and she smelled beer and whiskey mixed in his breath. The next five hours straight, all she knew was pain. By the time he stormed out of the room, not bothering to put his clothes back on, Parker was covered in blood and bruises. It took almost a half hour for her to fight the darkness enough to sit up, and another twenty minutes to grab her pants and shirt and put them on. She didn’t bother with the underwear right now, it didn’t matter. Parker felt the blood running down her thighs and knew the extra clothes would just weigh her down. She slowly stood up, fighting the grey clouding the edges of her vision. Parker didn’t know much about comas or concussions, but she knew that if she closed her eyes he’d come back and then she wouldn’t have any control at all. She looked at the tiny screen on the front of her flip phone which told her it was 3:14 am, and the battery light was flashing. She opened the window that she’d managed to pick just before the attack and slipped out slightly louder than she normally would have. The girl briefly considered going to the roof for her bag but she could barely walk let alone climb. She dragged herself step by step to an alley a few blocks away, and knew she couldn’t make it any further. She pulled out her phone which told her it had taken over an hour to walk four blocks from where she’d started. 

Parker considered her next move carefully. She likely would only get one short phone call. Hardison didn’t do well under pressure, and would ask way too many questions within earshot of the others. He didn’t hold secrets well, and she needed this to stay quiet or Charlie would pay them off and then torture her until she died. The dying part didn’t sound so bad, she’d heard it’s not that painful. It’s the torture that would come first that really, truly scared her. And the thought of losing the people who were slowly breaking through the walls she’d surrounded herself with since she could think nearly broke her. No, she decided, definitely not Hardison. 

Nate was the next person she considered but threw this out immediately remembering the time. He was either hungover massively or still drinking, and the fear of smelling alcohol right now nearly made her lose her battle with consciousness. He would also figure it out quicker than the others. It was getting harder to breathe and she quickly crossed Nate off her mental list. Sophie was off the list just as quickly, she would probably pass out or take her to the hospital. Parker couldn’t go to the hospital because telling meant big trouble. Sophie also scared her slightly when she changed her personality at the drop of a pin. 

That left only one person, and Parker gulped. Eliot was the scariest of the group by far. She had forced herself to not respond to the growl that was always in his voice, but when he was fighting people she couldn’t hide the tremors, so she usually didn’t stick around during those times. It was the worst when someone on the team got hurt. His eyes changed and reminded her of Charlie. But sometimes he showed her how to cook, and when she had been scared into the corner when he picked her up on the last job, he had talked her quietly out of the flashback and didn’t ask any questions or tell anyone else. It had been almost a month since she’d seen any of them. Mind made up, she clicked his contact in the phone and hoped he answered in time. It didn’t answer until the last ring, and she almost closed the phone when she heard a lady sighing and the furious tone of Eliot. 

“Dammit Parker, this better be a life or death emergency because I swear to god I’m busy with something-”

“El…iot help please” she interrupted, trying to gasp for breath but it was starting to hurt even more. 

“Parker?! Where are ya darlin’ stay on the phone, don’t hang up. Talk to me Parker,” He growled frantically, already throwing on his clothes and grabbing his stuff. He didn’t reply as his ‘date’ said call me, he never did call people again.

“Alley…. Coffee shop. Smith,” She coughed, “street.” She desperately tried to cling to consciousness, listening to the noises in the background as he floored his truck.

“Okay good Parker, I’m only about four minutes away. Can you tell me what happened? Focus on my voice Parker,” he added when she didn’t reply. “Parker!” He yelled at her after a minute, “Wake up and tell me what happened, now!” He only added the rage to his voice to scare her into staying awake, he didn’t want to terrify her but it had to be done, Eliot didn’t know how severe her injuries were.

The rage worked a little too well as Parker started breathing faster. It hurt too much, but she spoke anyway. “Attack… walking to office…. Hurts, Eliot,” she whimpered. Eliot didn’t like the way his chest constricted when he heard the terror in her voice. 

“Is the person who hurt you still there? You’re doin’ good sweetheart, I’m proud of ya. Keep talking Parker,” He said, trying to make his voice less rough, but it was worse when he was worried. He turned down the street she was on. 

“No hospital Eliot, no hospital, pleas-” her pleading voice was cut off as the connection cut and he panicked. He jumped out of the truck barely taking the time to grab the key from the ignition and sprinted to the first alley he saw by the coffee shop. No Parker. The second one he tried, a bloody pile of rags backed away from him weakly, and at first he thought it was an animal that’d been hit by a car. Then he met her haunted eyes, and the constriction in his chest turned to actual fear. Eliot didn’t fear things. He knelt down beside her and started checking for injuries to determine whether a hospital would be needed. He shouldn’t have bothered though because the answer was definitely yes. He could see brain matter in her hair, and there was so much blood that it turned her hair red. There was also blood dripping from her pants, but he didn’t have time to check as he gathered her gently in his arms and ran to the truck. He sat her in the passenger seat and cursed as a car pulled out in front of him forcing him to hit the brakes. Parker screamed as she hit the floor. 

“No hospital no hospital,” she muttered under her breath, and tried to open the truck door. Eliot locked it just in time and screamed at her. “PARKER if I don’t take you to a hospital you’re going to die. I can’t fix this.” Parker could only sob. Eliot was betraying her too. 

He didn’t care as he parked right at the doors of the emergency room, and he didn’t stop to turn off the truck or anything. He could only focus on scooping Parker up and running into the hospital. The doctors immediately took her back despite the crowded room when they saw brain matter. “Parker stay awake for a little longer darlin’, just try okay?” Parker was distracted though, by the fast thudding in her ear and the deep growly sound that the wall she was leaning against made when Eliot talked. Then she stiffened as she realized she was being held for the first time in her life. 

“Hey Parker, it’s okay I’m not gonna hurt ya sweetheart.” He said soothingly, like he was talking to a spooked horse. “Okay, we’re not going to be able to put her asleep in surgery with a head wound this severe. Do you know her father’s contact information? Yes, sir, I understand you’re a close friend of hers but we have to have a legal guardian here to sign off on you sitting in the operating theater.” The doctor started trying to pry her away from Eliot but she gripped his shirt like it was the only thing keeping her from falling off of a very tall building. “I think he’s the one who did this to her. Don’t call him,” he told the doctor quietly, and Parker froze. 

“I understand, sir, but we have to call him in. It’s the law. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll make an exception this time for you going into the surgery and I’ll call the police as well,” the doctor said calmly, noting in the chart the way she was clinging to Eliot for dear life. If the kid was going through hell like it appeared, it looked like she already had found her next foster parent. “Put her on the hospital bed, please. And I’ll need your name as well for a statement later.” 

Eliot tried to put Parker on the bed but she refused to let go of his chest. “Eliot Spencer. Parker stop clinging to me like a damn koala bear and lay down on the bed,” he growled out a bit too harshly. She immediately let go, and he gently laid her down on the bed. Eliot immediately moved to grab her again when they strapped her down in several places, but the doctor stopped him cold with, “Unless you want to break her bones and hold her down yourself while she’s awake for surgery that we don’t know how long will last, we have to tie her down. Just hold her hand. We’re starting blood transfusions, pain medicine, and stimulants to keep her conscious. Is there anyone you need to call?” He hesitated, glanced at Parker, and nodded. He ignored the pleading look in her eyes and stepped out of the room for a moment. Eliot couldn’t afford to lose his reputation with the team, but he couldn’t quite keep the waver out of his voice at first. “Nate, Nate. Parker is in the hospital, she called me and told me she was attacked, but I think her foster father went too far or something. I don’t know why she called me. It’s bad, real bad. They’ve gotta do surgery while she’s awake and they’re calling Charlie about it. You’ve gotta come, I don’t know how to talk her through this. Yeah, I’ve got my comm, just put it in. Bring a spare for Parker. Get the whole team and get over here. Gotta go, they’re starting.” He hung up and soon heard Nate and Sophie putting their comms in, Hardison following a second later. 

Eliot swallowed heavily as he realized he had missed them putting the ventilator down Parker’s throat. It hurt when those were taken out, he knew from experience, and didn’t want to imagine how it felt going in. He found her hand, which was tied at the wrist, and squeezed it gently. The heart monitor was going haywire and he could hear every time Nate took a drink. They were on their way in no time, and he tried to smile at Parker, but it came out as more of a grimace. Eliot Spencer was not good at this cuddly nice stuff. He hit people for a living, and it was that precise moment when he realized just why Parker was so scared of him. He managed a smile at her then, but it was sad. She looked away and was confused at the feelings she was having. Parker didn’t do feelings, she was Parker. Feelings were normal people things, not Parker things. Tears started flowing down her face as the doctors started stitching her head back together. It hurt, and the tube wasn’t letting her breathe properly, and there was an annoying sounding beeping going on. Her eyes snapped to Eliot when he started talking. 

“Gotta calm down, darlin’. Everythin’ will be okay, I promise. He ain’t gonna be in the same room as you without me there.” He glared daggers at the surgeon who told him not to make promises he couldn’t keep. He knew Parker heard, because she screwed her eyes shut. They were finally done closing up her head, and started moving downward. There hadn’t been time to put her in a gown, so she was still in her filthy clothes. She jumped as high as she could with the restraints when they started to rip her shirt off. He tried not to look when the surgeons gasped. He rubbed the back of her too tiny hand with his thumb, and her back arched just a little bit less. Sophie was now charming the guards to get back into the room Parker would be put in just as a nurse poked her head in with a mask. “Father’s here and wants to be in here, sending him in now.” 

“No!” Eliot jumped to his feet and prepared to force the man out. “Sir if you can’t act civilly in here we’re going to have no choice but to kick you out.” He looked down at the hand Parker was desperately clinging to and then at her terror stricken face. This solidified the man’s guilt in Eliot’s mind, and he tried to swallow the rage that was steadily growing in his chest as his eyes found the child’s chest, which was currently an open cavity. He pulled his mask tighter onto his face. The door opened and Parker’s eyes snapped to it. The cardiac monitor was going insane, and the surgeons were yelling to remove all the tools as her entire chest was pounding with the force of her heart. A man walked in, wearing a fancy suit and tie. Eliot forced himself not to look up as he gently grabbed Parker’s face in his hand, willing her to look at him. She did.

“Parker, I ain’t goin’ anywhere sweetheart. Just keep looking at me, that’s it, don’t look anywhere else except my face okay?” He slowly let go of her face, and the surgeons got back to work, speeding up as another team started to cut her pants off. She was losing too much blood and they couldn’t wait any longer to see the damage. Parker jerked violently towards Eliot as Charlie grabbed her other hand. Her eyes started to roll to the back of her head, but he started talking softly to her again. “Parker I’m right here, ignore him darlin’, please. He can’t do anything with me here. I won’t let him, I promise. Parker, look at me,” he ignored the quiet crying in his comms. He knew all three of them were crying, listening to this. He used his feelings to fuel his rage when he fought, and he was gonna need to punch a lot of bad guys, soon. Parker opened her eyes and stared up at Eliot, who was taken aback by the emotions he saw in her eyes. “Parker didn’t tell me she had a boyfriend, I’m not sure I like you. Get out.” A voice drawled loudly inches from his ear. That also happened to have a comm in it. There was deadly silence from the comms, and then it sounded like Sophie and Hardison were trying to hold Nate back. “Are you deaf? I said, get out. I’m her legal guardian and I can kick whoever I want out.” Eliot met Parker’s eyes, and flickered up to meet Charlie’s eyes. “No.” he said, in a deadly calm voice, looking back down at the little thief who had snuck past his walls. Dammit. 

The surgeons finally managed to cut the rest of her clothes off just as they were closing up her chest. They hesitated before they pulled the pants off. Her heart rate was skyrocketing again. Eliot saw red both figuratively and literally when he glanced down to see what they were cutting. “Get him out,” he said simply. The surgeons looked at each other uncomfortably. They decided to call security in for assistance in case things turned ugly, as well as witness testimony for the reactions of everyone in the room. The officer brought a camera with recording equipment for evidence. What the camera (and Eliot) didn’t catch was the nails drawing blood from the hand Eliot wasn’t holding, keeping her quiet. The doctors pulled the cut pants off, and Eliot’s knees nearly buckled. He had to lean heavily on the bed to keep from swaying. Everyone in the room was silent, and the three waiting on the comms were frantically asking what was happening. Parker was trembling despite the straps holding her down. 

“Get both of them out of here,” the head surgeon said suddenly. “Excuse me?” Charlie said at the same time Eliot growled, “Not happening.” “The longer you just stand there, the faster she dies. If you care about her living, GET. OUT.” Eliot reluctantly let go and started backing away, not turning his back for a second. Parker’s eyes followed him with tears spilling out. The betrayal in her eyes almost broke him. Charlie didn’t move. He kept squeezing her hand tight enough to draw blood, and smirked lowly at Eliot. “I’m her guardian, you can’t legally kick me out.” The surgeon sighed in frustration and defeat. Eliot immediately stepped back up to her side. “I made a promise and I always keep my promises. Not going anywhere if he doesn’t,” he shifted his gaze to Parker. “I’ll be here, darlin’, always. Till my dyin’ day.” He smiled softly at her, no hint of growl in his voice whatsoever. 

“Get the legal guardian out of this room, right now. By force, if you have to. He’s making her hand bleed,” as soon as the words were out of the surgeon’s mouth, Charlie’s hand’s were around Parker’s throat. “Everyone back away now, or I snap her neck,” he said. Parker was growing paler by the second. “I’m just hanging another bag of blood,” a nurse said cautiously. The instant Charlie turned to watch the nurse, he tightened his hands. 

Eliot released his rage. 

He launched himself clear across the bed as he tackled Parker’s foster dad. He stood within seconds, foot hovering just above his throat. One drop of his boot would end this, but he hesitated. He wasn’t that man anymore. He looked back at the little thief, who was watching him with mixed emotions. Fear was at the forefront, followed by awe and a barely traceable hint of trust. He hesitated a second too long because the man shoved aside a tray and bolted from the room. Eliot started to follow but froze, and forced himself to return to Parker’s side. He squeezed her uninjured hand gently and said, “Like I said, till my dyin’ day.” 

Parker screwed her eyes shut tightly after Eliot sat down. They were starting the internal exam now, and she’d never wanted to disappear more than in that moment. Gasps filled the room. Parker opened her eyes quickly and the first thing she saw was the tears silently falling down Eliot’s face. There was no other sign that he was emotional, and she nervously and quickly squeezed his hand. She looked away when Eliot stared at her sadly. This wasn’t normal. Eliot was being… Not Eliot. Where did Eliot go? She looked at him questioningly. He stared at the surgeon, begging them to answer for him. They did. 

“Miss Parker, we have to take all of your reproductive organs out. They’re too badly damaged to salvage, and we’ll have to do some reconstruction work in the future for you to ever have a normal ….relationship,” The doctor finished off, frowning. Parker looked completely fine. In fact, she shrugged. She’d never liked kids, or wanted them. She didn’t understand the thing about the relationship, but she thought they were overrated anyway. Then she understood why Eliot looked so upset as they got to work. Her back arched and every muscle in her body tensed in excruciating pain. They had to stop and remove the ventilator halfway through because it was failing with the tensed muscles. The surgery was so much worse after that. She screamed until her throat bled, and even when she couldn’t make another noise she screamed silently. Eliot sang to her in her ear the entire time, pretending the tears on his face weren’t at all real. After almost 45 minutes, the last part of the hysterectomy was complete. Parker’s back finally stopped arching, and she just laid there trembling. “Eliot,” she tried to whisper, but barely any sound came out. “Eliot,” she tried again frantically. He appeared in her vision instantly. “Parker?” he asked, slightly nervous. He definitely didn’t want the rest of the team finding out he’d broken. Or sang. Singing was not an Eliot Spencer thing. He was blindsided by what she said. “I wanna jump off a big building,” she said almost silently. He eyed her warily. “With or without a harness?” he asked, almost afraid of the answer. Parker frowned, concentrating. “Before you found me, without. Now, I don’t know,” she said quietly. Eliot didn’t quite know how to answer that, so he frowned. “Well, we’ll just have to figure it out together then, darlin’,” He smiled gently at her, though the slightly growly look was back. Parker hurt, bad, and she was tired, but she needed to hide it. She was supposed to hide it. Suddenly, Eliot was moving quickly around her and she tensed slightly. The tension immediately dissipated when she realized he was just undoing every strap trapping her to the bed. She didn’t miss the desperately frantic look hiding behind his eyes. 

She stiffened as he pulled her to his chest once the last strap was undone. He was careful with her slightly broken body but it still hurt a bit. The doctors had stepped out for a few moments to give the two some privacy. After all, the two hour long surgery had started with the gruff man barely able to hold her hand without grimacing, and ended with him silently crying over her and singing. To her credit, Parker calmed down quickly. The doctors had told him where the room was and that they were to call before moving to the room but she was now in the clear to sleep. He sat on the bed with her and pressed the button, deciding to let the doctors do all the work of pushing them to the room. Parker was starting to feel heavier in his arms, and he glanced down. She was stubbornly trying to keep her head up and eyes open. He gently took her head and leaned it over his heart. “Parker, I promised. I’m not goin’ anywhere. I’ll be here till my dyin’ day.” He hesitantly pressed his lips to the top of her head silently. And suddenly his chest was getting wet as she cried just as silently. The only other giveaway was her trembling, and he just stroked her hair quietly. When they entered the room that the others were in, Sophie almost passed out at the sight of so much blood, sitting down heavily in the chair behind her. Hardison looked away suddenly, guilty as hell. He should have said something to the others sooner. Nate just stared at them both, totally and utterly lost. One thing was clear to him: The little thief would never be in the foster system again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parker gets an unwelcome visitor, and lots of hurt/comfort ensues with the whole team.

The team decided to cancel the San Diego job. Parker came first, and she’d been through trauma that she would have to deal with for a very long time. The kid had tried to argue, but there was no way she’d be able to participate. Not only that, but the security guards had come in shortly after the doctors had checked up on Parker one last time (they had reconnected her to a heart monitor because her heart had a slight arrhythmia due to the injuries):

“Charlie Wright escaped the hospital. We have a warrant out for his arrest but it’s suspected he’s either fleeing the country or he’s being protected by someone high up,” The security guard said bluntly adding on, “We’re setting two officers outside the hospital room as guards, and a social worker will be here tomorrow to discuss Parker’s next foster home.”

Parker, who had finally been beginning to relax while being held by Eliot, nearly ripped out her stitches moving so fast. She was humiliated already, they had put her in a diaper like a stupid baby after the surgery claiming that she might not have bladder control anymore. She was seriously considering jumping off that damn roof if it was true, she may be tiny enough to be held in someone’s lap but she wasn’t a baby. “No, no no no no,” she kept muttering under her breath. It was so hard to talk, and move, and breathe, and suddenly her vision was greying and her heart monitor was starting to race. The entire team stood up and tried to calm the kid, Eliot sliding off the bed to give her and the doctors space to work. 

Suddenly the frantic beeping stopped, replaced by a flatline sound. Parker was gone. Her heart had been too stressed with the surgery, weakening. Nate and Eliot both yelled for the doctors (Eliot bellowed PARKER!), but Eliot didn’t just stand by, he started chest compressions. “Dammit, Parker!” He said, not able to hide the waver in his voice. The man had just sung to the kid through an awake surgery, he wasn’t going to just let her fade. The whole room heard a rib splinter, but Eliot ignored it. That happened sometimes during this. He knew that. The doctors were pulling him away suddenly, and shocking her heart. “Normal sinus rhythm,” the doctor said. Nate walked out of the room and Sophie followed, both not able to hide the tears in their eyes. Hardison looked haunted, following them a second later, and Eliot had barely managed to keep from breaking the wall of emotions. The doctors checked the machines once more before back walking out.

Eliot refused to leave. Parker had called him for a reason. She knew he would die to protect his team. Damn thief had managed to not only sneak past his defenses he’d been building for a decade, but nestled herself somewhere near his heart as well. He had actually bellowed when the monitor had flatlined. His control had slipped in front of the team. He couldn’t let that happen again. Above all, he wasn’t letting anything like this abuse happen to Parker ever again. “Till my dyin’ day,” he had told her. He intended to keep that oath. He picked her up again and sat back in the bed.

Parker had heard both Nate and Eliot yell, loudly. She thought you weren’t supposed to hear things when you died, but apparently she was wrong. Parker had also felt Eliot break a rib, but she didn’t blame him. She didn’t wanna wake up, but it was so cold. Suddenly she felt herself being picked up and she wanted to panic, but the smell and the way he tilted her head back onto his chest told her it was Eliot, so she didn’t panic at all. But Parker did manage to open her eyes. She shivered, but he was already starting to warm her up with body heat and grabbed a blanket, throwing it over them both and wrapping her up in it a bit. He grabbed her chin, trying to be gentle but firm, and made her look into his eyes.

“Don’t do that again, Parker, dammit,” Eliot growled, “We ain’t gonna let you go back to a damn foster home. Hell, I’m pretty sure the others are prepared to kidnap you too, and I’ll sign the adoption papers myself if I have no other choice than to do so.” Eliot only regretted saying this last bit for a second, because the next second Parker was squealing and wrapping her arms around her neck. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her after the shock wore off a bit, patting her on the back. Parker eventually let go, practically collapsing against him, trembling. She was so tired she could barely hold her eyes open, but she was still too scared to sleep. “Parker, go to sleep.” Eliot growled, tilting her head down onto his chest and making himself more comfortable as well. When he realized she was still stiff as hell, he glanced at the door, making sure his earbud was still out and the rest of the team was still out of the room. “Parker I ain’t goin’ anywhere, I made a promise to ya, that I’d protect you till my dyin’ day, and I always keep my promises,” He said softly, nearly managing to erase most of the growl from his voice. Eliot sighed when she only relaxed minutely, and started singing her a lullaby his momma used to sing to him as a kid softly, almost whispering. Slowly, Parker relaxed, the steady beat of his heart and the rumbling in his chest as he sang lulling her to sleep finally. A ghost of a smile played on his lips, the kid was almost cute while asleep, if he managed to forget the fact that she was 20 pounds of crazy in a five pound bag.

The rest of the team returned about half an hour after Parker fell asleep, Eliot was watching sports on low volume on the tv since there wasn’t much he could do with a kid curled up sleeping on his chest. Parker was small (bordering on tiny) for her age but was still a bit awkward to hold. When Sophie walked in first, she stopped dead in her tracks at the doorway, making Nate run into her and peek over her shoulder. Sophie said a quiet “Aww” while Nate and Hardison just stared at the sight of their hitter casually holding a sleeping child like it was nothing.Eliot glanced over at them with a glare. “Are you going to come in or are you just gonna stare all night?” he grumbled quietly. They hurried to go sit on the couch and chair in the room. Parker stirred a bit when Eliot slowly got up and put her on the bed, but once she realized it was just Eliot she appeared to fall back asleep. The team quietly discussed what they were going to do about the social worker coming tomorrow.

Nate had the smell of whiskey on his breath when he spoke: “I think one of us should apply to be her foster parent, or even apply for adoption if it’s possible. I could do it, I had Sam-”

“Nate, I really don’t think you should be considering adopting a kid who has the social issues Parker will have after this with you drinking all the time. It's irresponsible and unfair for Parker to have to worry about you,” Sophie cut in immediately.

Eliot had something to say to Nate as well. “Nate, you weren’t there when her foster father had the smell of whiskey on his breath and just the smell of that threw her into a panic,” He said after Sophie had finished.

“I think Eliot should adopt her,” Hardison remarked, adding quickly when the team turned to stare at him, “Parker seems to trust you. She called you. Not Nate, not Sophie, not me. She called you, Eliot, because she knew you were the best at handling these situations. Hell, she fell asleep on you, bruh. Parker trusts you and right now, you’re probably the only person she’s going to talk to about what exactly happened in those foster homes she was in. She’s awkward, she’s antisocial, she don’t go to school, and we’re going to have to find a way to home school her. You have to be the one to take her in Eliot,” He finished. 

Eliot got up and started pacing, irritated. He didn’t particularly like kids. Not to mention, this was PARKER. Parker is insane. She’s the youngest famous thief in a century. What if she got on his nerves and he snapped? It would throw her into a complete panic, and he had no idea how to help a kid as badly damaged as her. “No, I can’t adopt a kid, dammit Hardison! What do you think is gonna happen if she throws a tantrum or sneaks up on me and I hurt her? I’m a hitter for god’s sake it’s programmed into me to attack! Maybe you should adopt her, Hardison,” He snarled loudly, and, remembering that Parker was supposed to be sleeping, quickly turned around to the bed. She still appeared to be sleeping.

Parker was, however, listening intently to the conversation. Years of abusive foster homes had made her proficient in the skills of feigning sleep and keeping a neutral face. She wanted to get up and run away when Eliot said no, it hurt her that he’d say no when earlier he’d even offered. Maybe he was lying; it wouldn’t surprise her. Parker thought she shouldn’t trust adults, but somehow she had started to trust the team. She forced herself to keep quiet. Maybe the others would say something. Parker was right, they did.

“No, Eliot, Hardison is right. You’re the person who Parker trusts the most right now, and you seemed really good with her during the surgery and all. She can take turns staying with all of us, you’ll just be the signature on the official adoption papers. We’re all a team. I have kid experience. Hardison is great with Parker too, and we all know that Sophie loves Parker like her little sister. Eliot, do this for Parker. Please,” Nate ranted for a while. 

Eliot was livid. They were trying to talk him into this while giving him barely any room to argue his point. “I’ll think about it. I’m going to go home and sleep, I’ll be back in the morning. Don’t leave her alone in this room for even five minutes,” He managed to barely keep from yelling as he stalked out of the room angrily. Parker had flipped in her sleep so her back was turned to the rest of the team. Eliot glanced back at the bed one last time before he walked out and was startled when he saw doleful brown eyes staring straight at him. He turned back around quickly and stalked out without another word.

Parker glared at his back. If none of the team would foster her, she was going back into foster care. Parker immediately started plotting to get away from the hospital. She was tiny, the size of a child half her age, which in her case didn’t help at all because going out alone would make people question her, like they had when she ran away from charlie. Parker didn’t have makeup to hide behind this time. She heard the others moving around in the room and talking quietly behind her, but tried to ignore them. Then she realized that any removal of the heart monitor would make it flatline, and she’d be discovered. Parker was trapped here. With that uncomfortable thought, she drifted into an uneasy sleep. 

________________________________________________________________

When Parker woke up next, she was alone. It was barely light out, so it must still be early. The pain from her injuries had woken her up, and she shifted uncomfortably. Something wasn’t right, and when she glanced around, she saw her earbud on the desk. Parker carefully got up to grab it and stuck it in her ear, switching it on just as the door opened. 

“Hello, Parker, I’m the social worker who’ll be taking over your case,” Charlie smirked at her. Parker shrieked and dodged his hands.

“Y’know for a master hacker that man Hardison isn’t very bright, he fell for the whole replacement social worker thing. He must not have slept all night. I told him he could come back in about 30 minutes, and by then you’ll be long gone with me. Those guards went to get coffee and the ex is distracting them,” Charlie said with a sneer.

Parker ripped off the heart monitor and IV, which had been giving her morphine. She felt a bit strange but knew she had to fight it. Parker tried to bolt, but she was grabbed by Charlie, who kicked her hard in the ribs. She couldn’t do anything except scream and hope someone had their comm in. 

“Parker?!? Wha’s goin’ on?” A startled and tired sounding Eliot asked.   
“Freak. You never should have called your friends, you’ll never have to see them again,” Charlie said, continuing to kick Parker. Parker decided to stall to keep him at the hospital, and Charlie started attacking her more.

Eliot was already on his way to the hospital, cursing Hardison, Nate, and Sophie the entire way. He was driving way over the speed limit in his truck, taking the back roads, it still took him a little over five minutes to get there. The entire way he could hear blows and abusive words raining down on Parker, and her whimpers of pain only made him drive faster. Guilt was eating him alive. He had promised, and he had failed. 

Parker had done all the stalling she could possibly do and it still wasn’t enough, Charlie had finally picked her up and started to leave the hospital; Parker was curled tightly into a ball. Apart from the kick to the chest, he had kicked the stitches on her head open and given her another concussion. The rest was a dislocated hip, elbow, and shoulder. Curling into the ball had protected most of her internal organs. Mentally Parker had regressed a bit, and was trembling, hiding her face in her knees while Charlie was leaving with her. They didn’t make it to the exit, because Charlie dropped her and bolted the second he saw Eliot walking in. 

Eliot froze when the man just dropped Parker like she was nothing, and debated whether he should go after the man or go to Parker’s side, but the decision was already made for him when Parker didn’t move from the curled up ball. 

Parker was shivering hard. Charlie had ripped her gown off, and now she was both cold and scared. She flinched heavily when arms gently picked her up, and, ignoring the pain it caused, curled up even tighter. Parker was hurting bad. The arms holding her walked into a room and sat down, but Parker still didn’t budge. 

“Parker, darlin’ I shouldn’t have left last night, I’m sorry. I was tired and annoyed with the team, I shoulda known better than to trust 'em not to leave ya. I’m here now sweetheart I ain’t goin anywhere, I promise,” He said softly, shaking his head slightly when the rest of the team appeared in the doorway. He glared daggers at Hardison. Eliot looked at Sophie and mouthed clothes, waving his arm slightly at Parker. Sophie nodded once and walked away.

Parker heard Eliot softly talking to her, but she was disoriented and dizzy from the concussion Charlie had just given her. Suddenly she bolted up and scrambled away from Eliot, throwing up over the side of the bed. Parker flinched when Eliot got closer, but he only pulled her hair away from her face so it didn’t get dirty. She saw the doctor approaching from the door, and shrank away from him. Eliot had to catch her before she fell off the bed. “Stop fighting, Parker,” he growled, when she started thrashing to get out of his arms. She stopped struggling almost immediately, something that caught Eliot completely off guard. He set her down gently and backed away from the bed a bit to stare at her. Her eyes were unfocused and distant; filled with a terror and dread he’d only seen the previous night. The doctor started examining her and she backed all the way against the back of the bed. He reattached her heart monitor. “The stitches in her head have come undone, but so far the clot is still holding. We’ll get that taken care of soon, in the meantime, don’t let her fall asleep. She has another concussion. Police are searching the area but it looks as if he had a getaway car. Lucky you got here in time to scare him away or she could be halfway across the state by now,” the doctor advised. “We have an orthopedist scheduled to come in at 8am, it appears as though she has several dislocated joints,” he finished with a pointed look at Eliot, “Make sure her heart rate doesn’t go up too high, and don’t leave her alone in this room.” The doctor left.

Parker watched Eliot cautiously as he sat down in the chair next to the bed. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, really, but her head felt fuzzy and she didn’t want to trust anyone ever again. Sophie knocked on the open door, and Parker looked between both of the people in the room frantically as if expecting them to strike when her back turned. Sophie walked in quickly, setting a bag down onto the bed. 

“I bought underclothes and pullups both just in case you did have an accident. We aren’t judging you if you did, Parker. What happened wasn’t your fault. I also got you these cozy looking footed pajamas. C’mon, you’ll love them. Eliot and I will go wait outside, okay?” Eliot started to protest, but Sophie dragged him to the door, though not before he said “I’m staying three inches away from the entrance of this door, Parker. Say anything and I’ll be in here within two seconds.”

Parker waited until the door was closed, and then quickly dug in the bag for the underclothes. She peeled her ‘diaper’ off and to her horror realized she had had an accident, so she reluctantly put one of the pull-ups on. She threw the soiled pull-up into the trash by the bed. It was a testament to how small she was that they fit the ten year old perfectly. Whimpering a bit when she jostled her hip too much, Parker pulled out the pajamas next. She wrinkled her nose a bit at the light blue hearts on the dark green pajamas, but didn’t complain. Green was, after all, her favorite color, and she didn’t often get new clothes. She zipped up the pajamas and curled into a ball, ignoring the pain and waiting for the others to come back in. 

“Coming back in now, Parker,” Eliot murmured under his breath when Hardison and Nate arrived. It had been plenty of time for her to change. He didn’t even look at Hardison, he might’ve hit the guy. Nate, Hardison, and Sophie walked in first, and Eliot followed quietly. Parker was curled up in a tight ball, shaking slightly. She watched them walk in like a hawk, eyes suspiciously moist but she had wiped the tears away quickly as they walked in. Eliot noticed but didn’t say anything. He moved to sit back in the chair, turning it slightly so he was half facing the rest of the team and half facing Parker’s bed. The team quietly plotted their next few potential. One was a place called Genegrow industries, it had killed a young girl and seemed like a good place to start. They were going to wait until Parker was ready for the job, however.

Parker watched them talk in despair, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be participating in any more jobs. They were going to send her back to the foster homes, and she would never forgive them for it. She was running away, she just had to find the right time to leave. 

Parker whimpered quietly while the orthopedist relocated her joints, and Eliot grabbed her hand without thinking, Sophie stroked her hair, and Nate grabbed her other hand. Hardison stood back, still feeling like this was his fault. The orthopedist wrapped her left arm to her side so that she couldn’t move it, and told her to be very careful with her leg and to not try to walk. Eliot let go of her hand quickly after the relocation was done, scowling at Sophie and Nate’s knowing looks. He was about to make a scathing reply when a woman with a briefcase walked into the room. 

“Parker? Hello, I’m Agatha Nightly, your new social worker. I’m here to show you the new foster family you’ll be going to. They have two older kids of their own who are treated very well, I think you’ll like this home. Assuming they like you, you’ll be in a testing phase for the first month,” the social worker said.

Parker was silent, but the heart monitor was starting to send small alarms. She simply looked away from the social worker, but the lady, Agatha, wasn’t giving up that easily: “Parker, I know you’ve been in some bad homes in the past, but it is very rude to ignore someone who is talking to you,” she said in a warning tone. “They’re here right now, in fact. I’ll send them in now. Please wait outside,” she told the rest of the team. 

Parker froze at those words. She didn’t want to meet a new family. She wanted to go with Eliot. Speaking of Eliot… Parker glanced at him, not making eye contact. He hadn’t moved a muscle from the chair beside the bed but now he stood next to the bed, like a bodyguard. Parker looked away, bitter. If he really cared he wouldn’t send her away to live with another family that wanted her for money. 

The door opened, and a stern looking woman and a very large man walked in. Parker’s eyes narrowed, these people didn’t look especially poor. The woman plastered a very fake looking smile on her face. “Hello, Parker. My name is Petunia and this is my husband, Vernon. DUDDERS, HARRY!” She yelled the last part, and Parker flinched hard. Two boys raced into the room, practically jumping onto the bed. Parker shrieked and bolted off the bed, away from both the new foster family and Eliot, ripping off her wires in the process. She ran out of the room ignoring the incredible pain radiating from her hip. 

“Woah, Parker,” Nate said when she ran straight at him. They had been standing down at the end of the hallway. Nate quickly and easily picked her up, shocked when he realized she was crying. The insane, funny, playful thief was crying. Parker wrapped her arms around Nate's neck and just sobbed into his shoulder. Parker was older than Sam had been, but she was so much smaller than he had been when he died. Nate wanted to murder the man known as Charlie. “Parker, what’s wrong? Don’t you want to meet your new foster family?” He asked, confused. Parker, however, only started sobbing harder. By this point, Eliot had already rejoined the team in the hallway. He stood silently, watching Nate deal with Parker, while also keeping an eye on their surroundings. He wasn’t about to believe that Charlie Wright would give up on grabbing Parker again. 

Parker hated crying. Her foster families had always hit her for crying, but right now she just couldn’t stop. Nate smelled like whiskey, and she was hurting everywhere, which was only feuling her tears. She didn’t want to lose the only real family she’d ever had. Parker had only known the team for a little over five months, but in that time they had been nicer to her than any of her other fosters combined. She knew she should never have gotten attached to them. They didn’t want her. Nate asked her what was wrong, but then he talked about the new foster family. These words twisted in her mind to we never wanted you. She started crying harder, and it was getting painful to breathe. Parker was hyperventilating by the time Eliot got closer to the group, which she didn’t notice. 

Nate heard Parker start to hyperventilate and knew he was out of his element, so he closed the gap between him and Eliot and looked at him pleadingly. “I’m still a bit drunk,” he mouthed silently. Growling under his breath, Eliot nodded curtly. 

Parker stiffened when Nate handed her off to someone else, but was still hyperventilating. Eliot started walking away from the group with her in his arms, rubbing slow circles on her back. “Shh Parker it’s okay darlin’, stop breathing so fast you’re gonna hurt your lungs again,” he said softly when they were far enough away, knowing he had taken his and Parker’s earbuds out. Parker started crying even harder, and Eliot was stumped. “Parker, just tell us what’s wrong,” he said a bit impatiently, sighing when she shook her head. Eliot turned around toward the team, who were still in the hallway. “Hardison, c'mere,” he growled just loud enough for the hacker to hear. Hardison started walking toward them immediately, startled when Parker reached out for him to take her. “Parker, tell Hardison what’s wrong. Hardison, give me your earbud. I’ll be far enough away not to hear but close enough to guard the hallway,” he growled, giving Hardison one last glare. 

“What’s wrong, lil mama? You got the team all freaked out, we’ve never seen the great thief Parker cry like this, you gotta stop breathing like a freight train though or you gonna rip the stitches in your lungs, girl,” Hardison spoke gently, as if he was talking to the fosters at his Nana’s. It worked, because Parker slowed her breathing down a bit. “I can’t go to another foster home,” she gasped, her chest was screaming with pain now. “I’ll run away. I won’t stay. Nobody really wants me, I’m a freak. I’m a thief, all of the foster homes- know that it’s in my file. They act nice- for the workers then they try to -beat the thief out, or... or… worse...,” She said in between gasps for air, then, trailing off, she started sobbing harder as memories came unbidden to her mind. Hardison held her closer, looking destroyed. He approached the team just as the social worker was stalking toward them as well. 

“Great going, Ms. Parker, you scared yet another family away. I’ve read your file, there’s something wrong with you (Both Parker and Eliot visibly flinched at this, he’d said it to the kid so many times before and was only now realizing what it must have sounded like). It’s going to be a few days before we can find another family, perhaps Charlie’s ex wife-”

“That won’t be necessary,” Eliot interrupted the social worker with a murderous glare and a barely concealed snarl. “I’d like to take a look at the adoption forms.” The social worker nodded nervously and motioned for him to follow her. The rest of the team moved back into the room, Hardison handing Parker over to Nate. The poor kid was still sobbing, but now looked confused as hell, too. Nate rubbed circles on her back as she curled up in her defensive position, though she did collapse against his chest a bit, so she wasn’t too scared. She cried herself to sleep after around 10 minutes of Nate telling her a kids bedtime story that had been Sam’s favorite. He carefully tucked her into the bed giving up on making her uncurl. 

Eliot returned over an hour later. He stalked angrily into the room. Slamming the paper down in front of Nate, he snarled quietly, “You don’t con your own team, man. You should have told me you set up for a family to come today, dammit, Nate! You’re signing this paper too. In fact, all of you are, since I made you all godparents.” He smirked at the expressions on their faces. Nate looked half like he was going to drink himself into a coma, half ecstatic. He was terrified at being a father again, but he had a feeling that Parker would never call any of the team mom or dad. He almost wished she would. The look on Eliot’s face if she did would be priceless. Sophie looked mortified. She decided she’d act more like an older sister to Parker than a mother, she was a great actor but didn’t know about acting as a mother. Hardison’s reaction was the most unexpected. He was grinning like a lunatic. “I’m gonna be the coolest godfather EVER!” he said, laughing. “More like the nerdiest godfather ever,” Eliot grumbled lowly. He picked up the papers and stared at the team pointedly. They got the hint and walked out of the room to give the two some space. 

Eliot gently shook Parker’s shoulder, and felt something constrict in his chest when the kid immediately scrambled away and covered her head. Still acting her age, then. Sometimes the team forgot that Parker wasn’t even a preteen yet. She only acted as old as she did because it was what was expected of her, he thought bitterly. Parker stared at him with puffy eyes, already starting to sniffle again. 

“Parker, remember the promise I made when you were in surgery and right after?” He asked. Parker nodded slowly, a few tears slipping past her eyes when she tried to glare at him accusingly. She stared when he suddenly looked nervous and handed her a paper and a pen. “If you sign this, I can keep that promise. I already signed it, and so did the others. You don’t have to, we can always find another home-” He was cut off abruptly as Parker quickly signed it and launched herself at him, squealing and wrapping her arms around his neck. “-I’ll take that as a yes, then,” he finished wrapping his arms around her awkwardly. The team chose this moment to walk back in, and Eliot suddenly heard giggling. “...Parker? What’s so funny?” he asked suspiciously. 

“You just adopted twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag,” Parker giggled almost maniacally.

Eliot Spencer’s eyes widened almost comically, earning snickers from the rest of the team. “Dammit, all of you,” he growled, but his heart wasn’t in it, and he smirked with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the foster family ;) or anyone recognizable for that matter. I'm thinking about doing episode tags for this, like little snippets of life with little Parker mixed in with canon. Any thoughts? I realize she may be a bit OOC, Eliot too, but I'm still getting used to writing. Any tips are appreciated!


End file.
